13 beat 13-year-old to death

Bangladeshi police escort a man allegedly linked to the beating death of a 13-year-old boy named Samiul Alam Rajon in Sylhet. (AFP)

By

Agencies

PublishedMonday, August 17, 2015

Police in northeastern Bangladesh are seeking charges against 13 men for beating a 13-year-old boy to death in a case that stunned a nation used to violent crime because a video of the boy being tortured was posted online.

Detective Branch Inspector Suranjit Talukdar on Sunday sent the charges to a court in Sylhet city involving the case of Samiul Islam Rajon, who died of internal bleeding. The attackers allegedly punished him after accusing him of stealing a bicycle. The court will decide on the next course of action.

A 28-minute chilling video of the beating of the boy, who cried for help, went viral online, triggering protests in the South Asian country, where such incidents are not rare. His body bore at least 64 injury marks, according to an autopsy report.

In the video, the boy is heard screaming in pain and pleading with his attackers: "Don't beat me please, will die, will die." The attackers laughed at the boy when he asked for water.

Like many poor children in Bangladesh, Rajon was forced to leave school to work to help his family, in his case selling vegetables.

The main suspect who was visible in the video fled to Saudi Arabia where he worked and was on leave when the incident took place.

He has been detained there and is waiting repatriation to face trial. The other 12 men were arrested by police with the help of local residents, who caught some of the attackers when they tried to dump the body.